Wichita eagle., 1887-07-02
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A SHREWD DEVICE.

To dwell at any length on the youth
and early struggles of Felix Hailstone
would be both an unnecessary and an un.
Interesting act. AS the writer of fiction,
the vOluminOus, untiring, dull, and
middle aged writer of fiction, he claims
our attention; and with the exception,
therefore, of some Immediately following
biographical sentences, this narrative will
be devoted to him in that capacity.
Probably his direst enemy could not
devise any more fatal gift for young,
aspiring and promising author than
sudden succession to half q million OF
money; but in Mr.. Hailstone's case, the
unexpected possession of sum but little
smaller than that mentioned proved no
deadly stumbling block to labor. He was
young at the time, and aspiring, but not
promising-far from promising-and to
him money meant the sole likely or pos
sible means of ever seeing his thoughts in
any other garment than that of his own
handwriting. A magnificent incentive,
therefore, was our friends half million
He loved the trade of novelist, as
no one so indiferently furnished for
it ever did before, and from the
days of monetary prosperity, all that
which publishers had refused to publish,
all that which editors had shuddered at
appeared in what form the author pleased
and he chose the most handsome forni-
at his own expense. Hailstone rubbed
bindings with all the most popular wares
in the market. Such experience as money
could buy Felix bought. He interested
himself in literary companies, took SUBJ
,ditorships on decaying journals, lost
large sums, and, finally, himself fioated
an illustrated monthly magazine after a
scheme of his own evolution. The word
''hOat, y however, as having more than a
suggestion of buOyancy or specific light
ness about it, must be deemed ill-chosen
when treating of any such periodical as
"The Torch. " The first number of this
trifle would have anchored the Great
Eastern in gale. Hailstone himself
contributed two thirds of the initial vent
ure, which, thus handicapped, splut-
tered to the extent of three-copy circu-
lation and expired.
The ordinary railway novel-with a
sensational picture of somebody doing
nothing on the outside-was, for period
of ten years, our authors main method of
keeping himself before the public, and
his next undertaking of Importance
appears to have been society journal.
Engaging for this a literary man who
understood the distribution of prize
watches by coupon. the value of puzzles,
competitions, and SO forth-matters
which, in these DAYS when everybody
reads, are essential to the existence of a
new social weekly-Mr. Hailstone pro-
duced, in winter time, on paper, well
calculated to light fires, his periodical
Felix always reckoned the effort among
his successes.
With a bound we now come to the DAYS
of the ''Shocker''-the SHILLING shocker.''
Our author gloried in this new departure.
He burst upon the public with flashes of
lightning on his covers; he tempted the
elect with insidious titles and enigmatical
pictures; he crept into mems hearts by
printing every chapter of his lucubrations
ON paper of different color; he displayed,
in fine, more ingenuity than his best
friends had ever credited him with; and
some went so far as to foretell that he
might yet gain the public ear.
In justice to Mr. Hailstone we may here
say, once and for all, that he had
admirers, though unfortunately of class
who discounted their approval and
admiration. He was man of wealth, be
it remembered, and, as such, gave vast
deal of occupation to that large commun-
lty of feeble folks who spend their time in
devising methods for creeping to rich mems
pockets. These people not only found good
and much of moral instruction in Felix's
works, but generally took the liberty of
mentioning it, together with other irrel-
evant facts Some of his readers had
large families, HailStone discovered: some,
only one arm; SOme a stroke; one wrote
with the water he washed in because ink
could hot be purchased without money;
one admirer was not far from death,
another from starving. Our authors
writing on an empty stomach, by the by,
must, humanely speaking, have meant
years off a mans life.
Mr.. Hailstone, however, was blessed
with common sense in large quantities, a
fact accounting in some measure, pOSSi-
bly,, for his lack of success in fiction. He
perfectly well knew that his books were
not largely read, and determined to break
new ground and tempt fortune with some
thing historical. A novel the book should
be in name, and in name only, he de-
cided. People might read the coming vol
ume for plot if they chose; but, as d
teacher, as a crystaliZed epitOme of by
gone era, the book must live; that Mr..
Hailstone was determined COndescend-
ing to no caSuistical questions us TO what
really does or does not constitute the past,
Felix boldly put the matter beyond all
dispute and laid his plot in the year 1870
Then he read up the period, let his pen
dry, and lived, for the space of
month, among books other than his
own. After which course of study, order
ing in ink rs another man might order in
table ale, the author wrote twelve hours
six days Il week, and corrected for the
press upon the seventh.
With the production of this ponderous
and historically accurate work we bring
Felix to the most important period of his
whole life: that in which the ''Hailstone
Competition first entered his mind and
from which this narrative properly has its
being.
Mr.. Hailstone was 80 years of age, and
had written hard upon twice that number
of novels, when one day, in his morning
newspaper. he chanced to see an adver-
tisement, of which the substance was as
follows:
'Three prizes of small value We're offered
for the longest lists of characters from the
fiction of Thackeray. What measure of
success attended this speculation is not
generally known; but he or she who de-
vised this competition has, without ques-
tion, a very considerable claim on Mr..
Hailstone, and may, indeed, long since
hcre pushed it.''
Felix read and ruminated; then great
thought spread its light over his face, and
terrific possibilities entered his mind Ad-
vertisements both bold and subtle he had
%r,a fr,, h-,t u
lated to carry his name all over the world,
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